does anyone have OI and RC radio issues

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Maynard,
The condition you describe can be a power issue to the OI. Does the modem cut out when the robot is just sitting there or does it cut out when moving? There is also a possibility in antenna location and orientation. Is it possible to take a picture of the modem mounting without sacrificing team secrets? Is the radio mounted near a motor, particularly an FP or Mabuchi? Does the modem cable run near wiring that feeds any motors?

[mcurtis]

The modem was near the main breaker. We moved it away, but perhaps not far enough. What would you consider a safe distance. We're running four CIMS on modified AM gearbox. Although it's difficult to say for sure, it generally seems to be under power. However, it also happens with the robot on stands, with little load on the motors (free wheeling). Sorry, don't have access to the robot now, so can't provide pics. It's still in the prototype phase (controls screwed to plywood). We'll try moving the modem a greater distance tonight.

Maynard

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Maynard,
Being near the main breaker is usually not a problem, having the antenna itself near metal objects will detune the antenna and make it inefficent. Spark noise from the brushes can wreak havoc with the modem and usually unloaded motors produce more noise than normal loads so being up on blocks would produce as much or more problems than driving. It also may be the way the robot is wired. The power for the RC should come from the first breaker on the multi position breaker panel. Make sure that all connection to the RC are tight. Finally, and I should have mentioned this before, you need a fully charged Backup battery connected to the RC. The NiCads come discharged so you need to charge them at least ten hours out of the box. The backup holds up the radio modem during times the RC shuts down for low voltage.

[mcurtis]

Thanks for the help Al,

The modem is about one foot from one of the gear boxes. We'll try mounting it on a mast tonight. I'm quite sure our wiring is correct, but we'll double check it as well. We're servo shifting, so I am sure we have a charged backup battery.

Maynard

[Al Skierkiewicz]

It wouldn't coincide with the shift point would it? Are the servos having a hard time shifting? Try without shifting and see what happens.

[mcurtis]

We loaded the default code, which did not have our shifting code. The servos were unplugged and we simply drove back and forward in a straight line. A failure occurred with 30 seconds. We'll also try leaving the robot idle to see if we get the failure.

Thanks
Maynard

[waialua359]

Originally Posted by Alan Anderson

To the best of my knowledge, the 2006 and 2007 systems are identical hardware. But the 2007 RC came with v13 of the master code installed, which has specific support for the new radios. If you haven't yet updated the master code in your 2006 RC, that might be an issue.

(To check the master code version, press the mode button on the OI until it shows the 3-digit user value. The display will show the version number briefly before changing to the user byte value. You want to see u013 appear.)

OK. I just checked the version and it is the u012 version. i used this years mplab to get the default frc code. how do i update to version 013. Does anyone know if its the reason it would cause radio, no modem failure?

[Bharat Nain]

We have experienced the same problem. Even after following all the rules and guidelines provided by IFI and some of you folks, our radio randomly decides to stop working, and sometimes the robot will still keep going for a while (Maybe half a second, but thats enough to break a few bones). Some folks reported the same problem at Ramp Riot where the newer radios were tested. I really hope IFI looks into this and corrects this problem. It would be extremely frustrating to have a bug stop us from programming to our fullest like last year.

[mcurtis]

Just got off the phone with IFI. There shipping us new modems to try.If your seeing occasional modem losses, be very careful. We lost control of the robot at 15 fps. While the robot is supposed to shut down after 1/2 second, ours traveled around 30 feet before it met it's first obstruction. As they say, "The rest is history".

Bharat
If you have any 06 modems, IFI said the should work with v13 master code.

Maynard

[Kims Robot]

We are having the same issue... We checked all the wiring, and its definitely the radio cutting out. I'll be interested to see what the results are.

I have to wonder if it has to do with the housing... the housing is far to large for the board as far as I can tell, and when you shake it a little, you can hear that it isnt braced much against the casing.

[mtaman02]

Now what happens if IFI determines it is the new radios or the whole RC kit to be defective. Will they ship new kits out to all teams or those with the problem. If they don't plan on shipping to the teams does that mean teams need to prolong the programming which usually is the last phase of building and pick up new kits when they get to their first regional? I have always known the lost of signal for the slightest amount of time was caused by power issues and interference, so I don't think it has to do with programming all though the simplest of things can cause the greatest of problems. Something to be kept up to date on. If i set up the 2007 Kit (RC & OI Stuff) and plug everything up would there be a chance of getting the same problem or does the RC need to have motors and such be attached before you see any radio issues?

[Bharat Nain]

Originally Posted by mcurtis

Bharat
If you have any 06 modems, IFI said the should work with v13 master code.

Maynard

That's what the kids did. I am not sure of the results but I hope one of them can post about it here soon. I am assuming IFI will at least put more reliable modems at the competition, but for now, we must live with what we have. I am not sure how rookies will take this as they have no older modems. Autonomous programming and testing purely on a tether is kind of hard.

[waialua359]

wow! and I thought we only had this problem. Im surprised it didnt come up earlier with a lot of other teams. I guess we are lucky to have a drivetrain already with some functions.
Anyways, its confirmed that when we use our 05 or 06 radios, our 2007 robot works! But by only changing to the new 07 radios, it shuts down intermittently!
can someone confirm that the u013 code will work even with the older 05,06 radios. I didnt want to upgrade, only for it to not work. If that were to happen, then we would be stuck with using the new radios that dont really work well right now.

Thanks in advance!!

[mcurtis]

According to IFI v13 should work fine with 06 modems, and I believe 05 are the same.

Great to hear it solved your problems. We haven't tried the old modems yet.

Maynard

[waialua359]

IFI is sending us new tested radios for us to see if they work properly on our robot. Cory was gracious enough to do this free of cost.
We are sending our old ones back.
This is a request similar to team 1276 also.